


Dark

by Rashu89



Series: One Word Challenge [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Future Fic, Getting Together, M/M, Mentions of Draeden, Mentions of Stalia, Pining, Post Season 4, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-02
Updated: 2015-05-02
Packaged: 2018-03-26 18:54:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3860896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rashu89/pseuds/Rashu89
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles had no idea that Derek leaving Beacon Hills would affect him this much. And never did Derek.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> The word I was given for this drabble was Dark and after many hesitations this is what I came up with. Also, because I couldn't let it end the way I did, I decided to write a second part to it. It's from Derek's pov and follows the same timeline except that it goes a little bit further after where this one stops. Hope you'll like it and thanks in advance for reading~
> 
> DISCLAIMER: Everything is mine from the plot to all the grammar/spelling mistakes and other typos. But not the guys...

When Derek tells them he's leaving town with Braeden to help the woman on her next assignment, Stiles is the only one making fun of the situation, teasing the werewolf about how great it is for him to fulfill his dream of becoming a tracking dog now that he can achieve a full shift. Which unsurprisingly doesn't make anyone laugh, especially not the older male but it's okay. No one ever really laughs at his jokes but himself anyways so why should it be any different today. They have a small farewell party at the loft later that day which honestly is more of an excuse for the pack of teenagers to chill out before school starts again next week than anything else. Not that they don't care about the eldest not being around anymore but they know there's nothing they could do to make him stay. So they keep the mood as light as possible and if the idea that Derek may never actually come back this time leaves a slightly bitter taste in Stiles' mouth, he's just glad no one points it out.

 

It doesn't take long after the werewolf and his mercenary of a girlfriend are out of town for shit to happen again and as they spend pretty much every damn day fighting for their lives, Stiles finds himself wishing Derek were here. Sure, the guy was awful at strategizing and almost died way more times than he helped saved the day with his knowledge in things-that-go-bump-in-the-night. Yet the teenager can't help feeling like they'd have better chances at surviving if the older man was here with them. Like they'd be safer. Somehow. Still they don't ask for Derek to come back. Even if the werewolf said he would always be there if they ever needed his help. Scott prefers to handle things on his own because he's the alpha and Stiles... Well Stiles realizes he doesn't have Derek's number or any way to contact him so he just pretends he's fine with the situation and prays for the best.

 

By the time they're done with Beacon Hills' latest evil threat no one's died, fortunately. But Malia's gone to find out more about herself and her mother after breaking up with him. And his friendship with Scott is on the edge of falling apart. As if this wasn't enough there's also the pressure of graduating and with it the whole question of whether he should stay here or choose to pursue his studies somewhere else. Some place safer. Away from all the deaths and bad memories. If only he could just take his dad with him he knows that's what he'd be doing. Leave everything else behind. Just like Malia did. And just like Derek did before her. So he ends up staying in Beacon Hills where the supernatural life only seems to get crazier with the years that Stiles wonders how come he hasn't found out about all that mad world any sooner. Sometimes his thoughts drive him to dangerous territories where he imagines what it would have been like had Scott never been bitten. But that's not what keeps him awake at night most of the time.

 

Usually the reason he can't sleep is because of Derek whom the rest of the pack barely mentions anymore. But that doesn't mean Stiles has forgotten about him already. In fact it's quite the opposite, questions of how the older male is doing wherever he and Braeden are and if he's thinking of the bunch of teens he used to hang out with back in his hometown, filling his mind on a daily basis. He's not stupid. He knows exactly what that means that he's obsessing with the werewolf or why his dreams have been haunted with green eyes and scowling faces for a while now. And he's come in terms with a certain part of himself long enough that it doesn't freak him out as much as it would have back in his sophomore years. That doesn't make the realization any easier to accept though. Especially not when it seems like he's yearning for someone who's so out of his reach. Sure it's not like it's stopped him before but this is different. He can't exactly explain how or why but he can feel it deep inside him, that his years of infatuation for Lydia, and even his short-lived romance with Malia is in no way comparable to what he feels for Derek.

 

He doesn't tell anyone about it though nor does he try to make sense out of it. It's not like it matters. Derek's never coming back and even if he did Stiles knows he doesn't stand chance so why bother. Still he can't stop thinking of the werewolf and ends up visiting the now pretty much empty loft more times than he'd like to admit. It's not like he has any good memories in there but somehow it's the only place where he feels safe enough. The only place that seems to put his mind at ease as he sits on the cold wooden floor, alone in the surrounding darkness. So of course it should be no surprise when Beacon Hills' next villain decides to throw their attack right here. And it's no surprise either that it happens while he's at the loft, not moping thank you very much. The thing, whatever it is, destroying everything within its reach and giving Stiles a greeting of its own that fortunately does not kill him but hurts like a fucking hell that he's not sure if he really was lucky there.

 

When he comes to hours later, or maybe days who knows, he's laying on a hospital bed, his father slumped on a chair beside him and looking wrecked even as he sleeps. He can hear people talking right outside his room, the sound of Scott's and Kira's voices as they explain what happened to someone else, reaching his ears faintly until they abruptly stop. The next second, the door is pushed open and Stiles' heart skip a beat he knows everyone has heard, except for his father who's still dead to the world at the moment, as his eyes lock on familiar mesmerizing shades of green ones. For a moment he thinks it's his mind playing another trick on him but then he feels a weight on the side of his bed followed with warm fingers gently wrapping around his left hand and that's all the evidence he needs to know this is real. Derek is right here, holding his hand with the most unreadable expression he's ever seen on the werewolf's face. Which should be weird because it's not the kind of interactions he's used to share with the man but he wouldn't be kidding anyone if he said he didn't enjoy it.

 

So he does. Enjoy it that is. A small smug smile tugging at his lips tentatively as he breaks the silence that's been settling in the room to make some sarcastic comments he has the secret of, about how it is good to see their dearest Sourwolf again and that he would have dressed up a bit if he'd known the guy was coming to visit. His voice sounding all croaked and huskier than usual that he barely recognizes it as his own while Derek's sole response comes in the form of an eye-roll but Stiles doesn't take offense because of it. He actually grins more widely, slender fingers clumsily giving the werewolf's ones a small squeeze as he feels like the pull in his heart is loosening for the first time in almost two years. He knows it sounds a bit ridiculous if not sickeningly cliché but he guesses he could have come up with worst. Like... Derek being the light of his life, chasing away all the darkness from it with his mere werewolf-y presence.

 

He's even more thankful to the fact that he didn't utter any of this out loud for that would have been truly mortifying. Because Derek may be here right now, running soothing circles on the skin of his inner wrist with his thumb, right where his pulse can be felt steadily increasing, but Stiles is no delusional teenaged boy anymore. Derek may care about him because if you don't fall for Stiles at first sight he's the type of person who will eventually grow on you and the older male's no exception but that's probably all it ever be. And yeah, it's not what Stiles wants but he can totally work with it as long as the man doesn't leave again. Because as sickeningly cliché it does sound, Derek is kind of the only one who makes him feel like he has no reason to be afraid of living in the dark. Somehow.

 

+END+


	2. Part II

When Derek takes the decision to go with Braeden on her next assignment he has clearly no intention of ever returning. Not that he tells that to Scott and the rest of the teen's pack but he's pretty sure they know anyway. He still assures them that they can count on him if the situation arises in the future and it's no one's business but his own if he secretly hopes that it'll never come to this. For the first year after he's gone he feels next to no regrets for leaving. Sure, tracking supernatural beings all over the continent is not exactly the dream life he imagined for himself when he was a kid but he guesses that after everything he's been through that's probably not that bad of a lifestyle either. The only problem is that this kind of thinking slowly gets more difficult to keep as time passes by and he sometimes surprises himself wondering if he wouldn't have been better off to stay in Beacon Hills.

 

It sounds absurd because the town holds more unhappy memories than he can remember about the happier ones. Yet he can't help but to miss it at times, as well as he misses Scott and the pack including Stiles which he's never thought that was something in the range of possible. In those moments he's glad he at least has Braeden with him. The woman is fierce, straightforward and seems to balance him just well and he knows that's what he needs right now. So he holds onto that for as long as he can. Except that like every time he tries to avoid something, life finds a way to shove it right back into his face and that's exactly what happens this time around. Therefore it shouldn't surprise him that much when an angry shape-shifter comes to him and Braeden in a revengeful fit after they had to kill its mate. The creature, because it doesn't look like there's any ounce of humanity left in it anymore, trying to attack Cora first only to change its target when his sister's pack in South America proves to be too big of a defense.

 

And that's how Derek finds himself with no other choice but to head back to Beacon Hills, Braeden and Cora with him as back up, hoping he'll make it there before anyone gets hurt. A wish he knew was vain right from the start and his immediate reaction is to blame himself when Scott informs him that Stiles is in the hospital. There's a voice in his head, that sounds a lot like a certain brown haired boy with whiskey colored eyes, reminding him he's being stupid and that there is no guarantee he would have been able to prevent this from happening had he been there faster but it does little to lessen the werewolf's guilt which has almost become second nature to him by now. However he does take consolation in the facts that Stiles' injuries aren't serious enough to endanger his life and the only marks he'll keep from it are a few, more or less small scars on his back and arms. So that's that. It also serves as a good excuse for him to keep the younger male away while he and the others get rid of the shape-shifter.

 

Once it's done though, his relief is kind of short-lived as the realization that this means he now has to leave again crashes down on him right after. A thought he finds more upsetting than it should be and pushes him to tell Braeden he'd rather wait and make sure Stiles has fully recovered before they accept a new assignment. Luckily, if the woman sees through his lie she doesn't mention it and easily agrees. Unlike Cora who throws him a bunch of pointed remarks on the subject every chance she gets even though she still shows him some support by staying in town as well. They get near to three whole weeks to get used to the life in Beacon Hills all over again, which is a tad bit calmer than usual then, not that Derek's complaining, before Braeden gets a call from another client. They need her to find some ancient magic books all the way down in a small town of Argentina, not the most exciting mission that's a given but it's a well paid job and the mercenary is not one to turn her back on easy money without a good reason.

 

Something Derek respects, even if he doesn't always understands certain of her choices, but when she asks him if he's going with her the only answer that comes to his mind is a no. However he doesn't try to lie his way out this time and just explains her that he's tired of running away which is how he feels about leaving Beacon Hills again. Because he truly cares about the woman, he offers her to stay here with him instead but she's the one who has to refuse for she doesn't feel ready to settle down just yet. Not like the werewolf had any idea he was until now but it seems pretty obvious to him it's a truth he will no longer be able to ignore and so that's how he and Braeden eventually part ways without any hard feelings. Shortly after that it's Cora's turn to say her goodbyes and although Derek is not entirely fine about it he can't blame his little sister if she needs some more time away from their hometown before she decides to come back for good, assuming she ever will.

 

It only takes one day after he lets Scott know about his staying around for every members of the pack to show up at his loft in turn. The ones he's less familiar with tagging along with the ones Derek realizes he's been considering as friends for longer than he's thought. Why they feel like they have to do that is beyond him and he doesn't bother to ask because if he has to be honest, at least with himself, he doesn't mind their visits. It actually feels nice to receive this sort of greeting, like a reassurance that he's made the right choice. Stiles is the last to give him his welcome back speech but all the werewolf can focus on then is the nervous vibes that are wafting off the no longer awkwardly hyperactive teenager in waves. He felt it too that time at the hospital, not thinking much of it though as he put it on the count of post shock stress along with his own behavior that day. It was a legit thought until he went to his loft for hints and had his nose assaulted by the familiar scent of the younger male. He knew this was the place where Stiles had been attacked but the latter must have been hanging there on a regular basis for his scent to cling to the air this deep.

 

Yet as curious as Derek may be about the whys, he hasn't dared to utter a single word on the matter until now. He assumes that's probably the reason behind Stiles' nervousness, the human wondering if he's crossed a line by invading the werewolf's den without his consent. Unless there is something else. Something more complicated than what the man's ready to touch at the moment so he doesn't. He's not really proud of his decision but he figures it's for the best and hopes Stiles will understand. And if not he has no doubt the guy won't be quiet about it. Still he's not sure he can keep on with the current level of awkwardness between them and seizes the opportunity that's given to him right now to make it stop. He attempts for something simple, knowing there's little chances the other will pass on the possibility of teasing him for coming back into a town that's been nothing but bad luck to its inhabitants and to the werewolf more precisely. And he's right as Stiles confirms that he's taking a huge risk here but what he doesn't expect is for the words the twenty year-old adds after that, the sincerity in his voice as he tells the eldest that he's glad he did take the risk, leaving Derek to feel warmer than ever. But that's just another thing he'd rather not ponder onto just yet.

 

Instead he decides he should try to get his life back together and this starts with becoming an active member of society. Not that he needs the money but he could use a social life outside of the supernatural world. Something Stiles agrees on and he would bet a lot that's the reason the Sheriff stops by to his loft with application forms for BHPD a few days after he mentioned his plans to the man's son. He's never actually dreamed of working in the law enforcement but considering he doesn't have any better options he gives it a try nonetheless. It takes a month for the acceptance letter to arrive and when he finally begins his deputy training he's surprised to find out it's not that bad, to not say he quite likes it. After that he gets on arranging the loft so that it looks more like a real living place and less like the remains of an abandoned warehouse which according to Stiles, again, could do with some more improvement but even if the younger complains they both know it's just playful teasing. And it's not like Derek minds the nagging that much as it mostly only serves to show how comfortable the human is around him and at his place, a fact that his wolf has no shame taking pride in. He can't say the same for the less primal part of himself but he can sense that the idea is slowly sounding less foreign and that it's just a matter of time before he does find the courage to fully accept it.

 

It's been almost a year since he's got back to Beacon Hills for good when he finally receives his deputy badge from Sheriff Stilinski who's smiling proudly at him and Derek's known the man long enough now to tell it's more of a father kind of smile than a professional one. He knows because it's the same smile the older male usually gives Stiles and sometimes even Scott. It feels weird though to be at the receiving end of it instead of a simple witness but it's not uncomfortable either. If anything that makes him a little nostalgic, wishing his family were here today as he returns the Sheriff's smile with a small one of his own. He still counts himself lucky that he's not completely alone on this special day of his, as Mrs McCall likes to put it. The nurse and her son are here, along with the rest of the pack whom Derek's asked to officially join a few months prior. And of course, there's Stiles who's naturally being the loudest of his cheering squad, clapping and wolf-whistling to no ends, even hours later as they all pile in the loft to celebrate. To the greatest annoyance of the werewolf whose calls for the other to shut up are all ignored, not that he's expected anything else.

 

Unfortunately for his tired mind and ears, he has to wait two more hours until he's granted with silence again as everyone's left. Everyone but Stiles and he knows from the rhythm the human's heart is currently beating at this is no coincidence. Without any warning the latter slowly approaches to where Derek's been standing near the door, bidding goodbye to the pack members one by one, before pulling the man into a tight hug. Words of congratulations are then whispered against the side of his slightly confused face, causing his whole body to shudder in pleasure as warm air blows onto the sensitive skin of his ear. And as the werewolf has more difficulties than usual to resist the now rather familiar urge to duck his nose and drag it along the length of Stiles' neck, allowing their scents to mix, he realizes he may finally be ready to face his curiosity. It's still a bit scary, like switching the lights on in a dark room and even if you know there's nothing to fear you can't help dreading what might be in there. Or in Derek's case what might not be there.

 

Because he may have enhance senses but he's been wrong enough times not to rely on them only, especially when it comes to his love life. And by this he's not saying he doesn't trust Stiles because he does, certainly even more than he does trust himself at times and that's what truly worries him here. The possibility that he could somehow mess things up between them or that the younger would one day decides Derek's not what he wants anymore... That's what scares him and makes him hesitate for a while until he feels the warmth of Stiles' embrace abruptly leaving him as the male takes a few steps back with a small, slightly embarrassed smile on his lips. The human's face turning a bright shade of pink in the process and although it's not necessarily a bad look on him, the werewolf would rather have it happen in different circumstances. Not when the scent of the younger is getting heavier with disappointment by the second and pushing all remaining doubts aside Derek eventually asks the one thing he's been dying to ever since he's stepped foot back in Beacon Hills about a year ago.

 

And when Stiles replies with a casual yet a bit hesitant “ _is it okay if I say it's because I missed you_ ”, he can only nod his head positively in return. A low “ _I missed you too_ ” manages to escape his mouth, somehow. But he doesn't really care about how it actually happens as he hurries to pull the other back into his arms and nuzzles at the soft skin where Stiles' neck and ear meets. And God hasn't anything else felt so right in a long time.

 

+END+


End file.
